"That's not bad at all!!"

Seeing the Taoist priest distribute the items according to Sun Liu's needs, Jian Shuo couldn't help but nod.

Soon, Sun Liu left the crowd with grain and salt on his face.

Upon seeing this, Jian Shuo immediately went to greet him and then asked:

"Excuse me, sir, where are you from?"

"I am from Sunjiazhuang, ten miles north of Gucheng County, and I am now appointed as the village head of Sunjiazhuang!"

Upon seeing the burly, richly dressed Jian Shuo, Sun Liu dared not be negligent and explained his background.

"Oh, is life not good where you are? Why would a village head like you come here to beg for these things?"

Jian Shuo nodded and looked at the grain and salt in Sun Liu's hand with curiosity, asking a question.

The old man laughed and said, "It's not that it's bad. Since His Majesty ascended the throne and killed those corrupt officials, our lives have indeed become much better than before. We have surplus grain at home, as well as farm tools and seeds given by the government. We no longer have to worry about starving to death."

The villagers are busy reclaiming wasteland every day, which takes a lot of physical exertion. They don't have much left over from last year's grain, and they are also short of salt, so they come here to ask for some!

I've heard that His Majesty has now abolished corvée labor and poll tax. After we get through this autumn harvest, we'll definitely have more surplus grain, and life will only get better from now on!

As he spoke, Sun Liu couldn't help but laugh out loud. Although life in the countryside was still difficult, Sun Liu's eyes were full of hope.

Hearing that the villagers were busy reclaiming wasteland, Jian Shuo felt that this seemed to be a very important matter, so he quickly asked:

"Old man, you just said that the people in your village are busy reclaiming wasteland. I wonder how much new arable land has been added in your area?"

"Hmm, our village has 232 households, and we've reclaimed nearly 1,000 mu (approximately 67 hectares) of land, which is about 30% more than in previous years!"

The old man thought for a moment, and then gave a rough estimate of the amount of newly reclaimed land.

"Huh? Why is there so little?"

Upon hearing what the old man said, Jian Shuo frowned.

"Hey~ that's quite a lot."

Sun Liu smiled and then said, "There are already too many people and too little land here. Much of the land has been cultivated. The remaining wasteland needs to be leveled, filled in, and deeply plowed, which is very troublesome!"

Fortunately, newly reclaimed land is exempt from taxes for two years; otherwise, no one would be willing to go through the trouble of doing those things!

"Oh, I see!!"

Jian Shuo nodded and kept in mind what Sun Liu had said.

Seeing this, Sun Liu asked, "Is there anything else? If not, I'll be leaving now!"

Jian Shuo smiled and said, "Oh, it's nothing. The old man should go back now!"

"Then this old man will take his leave!"

After saying that, Sun Liu turned and walked down the mountain.

Then Jian Shuo turned around again and looked at the altar. He saw a middle-aged man walk up to a Taoist priest, bow to him, and cough incessantly as he spoke.

Seeing this, the Taoist priest grabbed the man's arm, put his fingers on the man's wrist, and then closed his eyes.

Soon, the Taoist priest opened his eyes, looked at the man, and laughed:

"This layperson only caught a slight cold and is perfectly fine!"

The Taoist priest then took out paper and pen, wrote down a prescription, and handed it to the man.

"You can take this prescription to the Medicine God Temple to get the medicine. You only need to pay ten coins for the herbs!"

"Thank you for your mercy, Lord!"

The middle-aged man was overjoyed when he received the prescription. He bowed and paid his respects like Sun Liu, then got up and walked into the Taoist temple.

Immediately afterwards, a middle-aged man in tattered clothes walked up to the altar and explained his needs.

After carefully confirming the situation, a Taoist priest tore off a piece of coarse cloth of similar quality and handed it to the middle-aged man.

In this way, one after another, people came to the altar to pray for alms. After verification, the Taoist priests would give them the corresponding items according to their needs.

"Providing food, offering medical care, and helping the people not only educated them but also helped the court solve many problems. The Taiping Sect is truly remarkable!"

Seeing the people who had received their gifts and were overjoyed as they bowed to the emperor in gratitude, Jian Shuo nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, let's go inside first!"

After watching for a while, Jian Shuo, remembering the purpose of his trip, decided not to delay any longer and headed into the dojo.

The Taoist temple faces south and consists of a front courtyard for preaching and a back courtyard for Taoist priests to practice.

The front courtyard has five halls, including four secondary halls and one main hall.

Four side halls are located on either side of the temple: the Hall of the God of Medicine, the Hall of the God of Agriculture, the Hall of the God of Water, and the Hall of the God of Earth. The halls enshrine portraits of different gods and immortals, and there are many people coming and going.

The main hall is named Tiande Hall, which means that Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life.

The Tiande Hall is located in the center of the north side of the temple. Jian Shuo and his party went straight to the Tiande Hall after entering the temple.

Upon seeing Jian Shuo and the soldiers of the Imperial Guard, a young Taoist priest standing in front of the hall hurriedly stepped forward to greet them and bowed respectfully.

"I have met this layman before. May I ask what brings you here?"

"I am Jian Shuo, a court attendant to His Majesty, and I have been ordered to summon your wise teacher Zhang Jiao. Is he here?"

After revealing his identity to the young Taoist boy, Jian Shuo couldn't help but look into the hall.

Upon hearing that the Emperor had summoned him, I hurriedly replied, "Reporting to Attendant Jian, the Master is currently giving a sermon in the palace. I will go and inform him immediately!"

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!